This is what my track looks like so far.I went for a storytelling layed back beat that’s not too complex but is enough to keep the listener engaged.
I went for a slow bpm of 89 as it fits the vibe I was going for. I have drums “broken piano” and some background voice effects. I played the piano tracks in myself rather than using samples
There are the vocal effects that have been drawn in. Quite simple, just two lines that repeat in certain parts of the track
This is the main melody that plays throughout the track. I added some reverb and filter effects to it and towards the end I added some more for an outro
This is the drum pattern throughout the track with the hiatus being taken out at certain points within the song. I changed the velocity of every other hi hat as before it sounded all in the same place in my headphones. I also panned them left and right,
DRUM RACKS
For this drum rack I decided to go for a trap style beat with the bpm of 88.
I lowered the volume on the snare, kick and high-hat as it was overpowering most other parts of the track. I also lowered the volume on the 808 kick as it was creating distortion the played.
The bell is at the start of every bar in half of the track as there is a beat switch up halfway through. This creates a ’dark’ vibe for the drill beat switch up.
This makes it perfect for the high hats as they have a “bounce” feel to it as I reduced the velocity of every other one in the beat.I added a range of effects to make it have some variation when playing.
I also added a filter to automate throughout the beat
This is the layout of the track (with some vocal melody). I alternate between 2 beats to switch it up throughout the track
This is the main drum beat as the hiatus are in place. I also made the hiatus bounce from left to right ear and I made them spread out so they are not just in one place the listening to the track. I cut the hi hats off towards the end as it gives the kick and the rim a bit of space to play.
This is the second drum beat which is mainly to just transition into the main one with the reverse rim that rises. This beat has some delay on it as it sounds better than just them all playing once.
I made the filter come in towards the end to give it an ‘outdo’. This also helps switch it up and adds some variety.
I have started to work on a new beat and created two melodies that change throughout the song depending on if its the chorus or else or not
verse:
Chorus:
I also made a trap drum kit for the song with some “real” drum toms to lead up to a verse/chorus, this gives it a bit of a switch up and a good beat drop. I used a drum kit for this drum pattern and altered some instruments such as the hi hats and made them pan in different ears when playing so they’re not just in one place though out the song:
These drum toms give it a good beat drop and give it that ‘upbeat’ vibe when switching to and from parts of the song:
This is the main track i was working on and this is the finished version that i have uploaded to soundcloud:
For this track I initially took inspiration from a uk drill track that i heard and recently got released but I thought the hi-hats were too basic and too slow so I experimented with 2 different ones which I haven’t done before, I also tried panning them left and right in the headset to create a better listening ability so its not just stuck in one place when the track is playing. I also had vibe in my head for a ‘dark’ beat that someone could use to “Diss” someone like an old school grime track or something like that. I used the bell as it creates this vibe very well.
I wanted to go for an ethnic vocal sample to turn into the drill beat but I decided to create my own so I have more freedom of what it can sound like. I recorded in some vocal chops, blended them together with some reverb and froze and used it as a sample in the finished product.
I added some extra reverb in the intro of the track to rise into the build up. I did this with Valhalla Supermassive which is quite an interesting plug in for intros and outros as well as some breakdowns. I recorded it in and it rises up hen goes into the first part of the intro
This is the drum pattern that plays throughout the track with slight drum drop outs. I used a kick, 2 snares, 2 hi-hats and a bell sound fx. I lowered the drums volume as it was creating distortion. I also lowered certain hi hats in certain places to create a bounce effect in the hi hat pattern. I added a reverse rim at the start that rises and then ends on the beat drop. This just adds some variation to the track.
I added the bell on the first note of every bar to create a ‘dark’ vibe for it.
I added 2 snares because it can create a ‘bounce; effect along with the 2 hi-hats in their pattern. I filtered the hi-hats as they has a lot of high sound, this made it a bit easier to listen to. I lowered the volume on both snares so they are balanced with the test of the drum it and were not overpowering any id the other aspects of it.
This is the sample I created. I made it with vocal chops, added some reverb and echo effects then froze and sampled it in the track.Its the same sample that plays throughout the track with some moments where it drops out or increases/decreases in volume. In some little parts of the track I reversed the sample just to switch things up throughout the song.
This is the bass that plays along with the drums to create that typical bass in a UK drill beat. I created a (bass glide) at the end of some bars to add a short transition into the next bar. I had to lower the volume as it was clapping with the drums and creating distortion.
I added some distant background vocals to add some more to the track in certain places. I added some strong reverb and lowered the volume to make them only just noticeable and not overpowering over all the other aspects of the track. This adds variation.